medium format
Prairie Skies and Red #29
I grew up on the prairies of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and North Dakota. Each summer, my family would drive to Alberta or Ontario on vacations to see relatives or go camping. Outside of the city, the tallest buildings were grain elevators spaced about ten miles apart from each other along the railroad lines and appeared to be tied together with the telephone lines passing from pole to pole. These icons of the prairie stand in solitude winter and summer, storing the harvest until the commodity markets were just right. Tractors and equipment harvested the grain, the trucks hauled it in, and the elevator would weigh it, store it, and load it into railroad hopper cars.
Traditional grain elevators are becoming extinct since concrete grain terminals have emerged. It won’t be long until they are all torn down or collapse from neglect. They have been around for more than a century standing like signposts for ‘POOL’, ‘PIONEER’,’ UGG’, and a number of independent brokers. America named its towns after water towers and Canada named her towns after grain elevators, or so it seems.
I began to process the monochrome film that I shot in rural Minnesota last month. I experimented with a variety of film-developer combinations and filtration. Most of the film was shot with a red #29 filter, which is slightly darker than the #25. The beauty of using red filters with monochrome film is that they bring out very dark and dramatic skies but leave the tonality of clouds. That is, they filter out the blue wavelengths of light to darken the sky and enhance the billowing or feathery clouds. Red filtration also draws out the texture of the metal siding on buildings to appear more like engraved lithographs than photographs.
The results are in the Rural gallery. Bright clouds contrast the geometric elevators and ribbed grain bins against the sky. I used Fuji Acros monochrome film shot at ISO 100 and developed in Edwal FG-7 at 1:15 dilution for 9 minutes. Edwal recommends agitation every 30 seconds for 5 seconds, but after looking at the negatives I would rather process Acros for about 11 minutes and agitate the tank once every minute for 10 seconds. The negatives were so thin that they were nearly unprintable and I was surprised to see how well the images looked. They bring out the kind of texture that gives monochrome film its character. I also shot Plus-X at ISO 80 and processed it in FG-7 for 8 minutes which was about right. The negatives were denser and provided a bit less contrast. The Versatile 435 tractor images are good examples.
Traditional grain elevators are becoming extinct since concrete grain terminals have emerged. It won’t be long until they are all torn down or collapse from neglect. They have been around for more than a century standing like signposts for ‘POOL’, ‘PIONEER’,’ UGG’, and a number of independent brokers. America named its towns after water towers and Canada named her towns after grain elevators, or so it seems.
I began to process the monochrome film that I shot in rural Minnesota last month. I experimented with a variety of film-developer combinations and filtration. Most of the film was shot with a red #29 filter, which is slightly darker than the #25. The beauty of using red filters with monochrome film is that they bring out very dark and dramatic skies but leave the tonality of clouds. That is, they filter out the blue wavelengths of light to darken the sky and enhance the billowing or feathery clouds. Red filtration also draws out the texture of the metal siding on buildings to appear more like engraved lithographs than photographs.
The results are in the Rural gallery. Bright clouds contrast the geometric elevators and ribbed grain bins against the sky. I used Fuji Acros monochrome film shot at ISO 100 and developed in Edwal FG-7 at 1:15 dilution for 9 minutes. Edwal recommends agitation every 30 seconds for 5 seconds, but after looking at the negatives I would rather process Acros for about 11 minutes and agitate the tank once every minute for 10 seconds. The negatives were so thin that they were nearly unprintable and I was surprised to see how well the images looked. They bring out the kind of texture that gives monochrome film its character. I also shot Plus-X at ISO 80 and processed it in FG-7 for 8 minutes which was about right. The negatives were denser and provided a bit less contrast. The Versatile 435 tractor images are good examples.
Like a Kid in a Candy Store
May 02, 2010 - 20:52 Filed in: Equipment
Yesterday, the Puget Sound Photographic Collectors Society (PSPCS) held its annual Photographic Show and Swap Meet in Puyallup, Washington. I look forward to this event all year long. Vendors and private collectors gather to buy, sell, and trade their photographic wares that range from century-old box cameras to modern professional grade digital equipment. It’s like eBay, except buyers get to look at the merchandise before money changes hands, there are no last second bidding wars, and no haggling over ‘postage and handling’. If you’re lucky, you can even win a door prize!
I wasn’t in the building five minutes when I came across a table sporting a pair of Mamiya twin lens reflex cameras. I asked how much the seller was asking for one of them, a well maintained C220f, like I was even interested. I already own a C330 and a model C330f. What on earth would I do with a third body? The camera included an 80mm f/2.8 blue dot lens and a strap. I would need to produce $90 cash to walk away with it.
Up to this point, I had never used either the C220f or the C330s. I performed the usual superficial inspection. Wind the film crank. Look in the viewfinder for cracks and the kind of gunk that can accumulate over a few decades. Cock and trip the shutter. Check out the shutter speeds, especially the slower ones. Open the camera back. Look for damage or corrosion. Check out the condition of the light seals.
But where was the door latch? The usual chrome button-shaped film door catch release wasn’t there! I pulled every knob and moved every slide and protrusion that I could find to release the film door but I just couldn’t open it. The seller was equally baffled. Most Mamiya C series TLRs have an obvious round silver catch on the top edge of the film door, which was conspicuously absent in these two models. Since the vendor was also selling a C330s with a similar film door design, I thought that I could find some leverage with technical information should I decide to take the camera home. With the seller’s permission, I took the camera from vendor to vendor looking for someone with expertise in the Mamiya C220f.
I asked four of them, including someone who looked like George Eastman himself if he were alive today, but no one could pull the sword from the stone. The fifth man was the one I was looking for. After a bit of fiddling, he discovered that by moving a spring loaded slider on the left side of the body next to the film door while depressing the film take-up spool axel knob, the film door would pop open with ease. (He later confessed that he was a camera repairman with over 20 years experience and couldn’t bear the humiliation if word got out that he couldn’t open the film door of a 35 year old camera!)
I approached the original vendor and, armed with confidence and my newfound knowledge of Mamiya TLR film doors, offered her $80 firm. Her best price was $90, but knowing that unless her next customer was profoundly familiar with Mamiya C series cameras, she would be stuck with two unsalable items. A deal was struck, and I am now the proud owner of a THIRD Mamiya TLR body and a second 80mm lens. The lens alone was worth the price!
Since my mission that day was to find 46 mm filters for my two other Mamiya TLRs, I bought a roll of Agfa Isopan ISS 200 black and white film that expired during the Johnson Administration and a roll of Kodacolor 120 film that I simply MUST expose and process. The color shift from film that is more than 30 years outdated will be a spectacle to behold, or an utter failure. I’ll have to shoot it and see for myself. While digging through bins of used filters of all colors and sizes, I bought a lens wrench, a couple of 620 film spools, and a 58mm #29 red filter for my Mamiya M645 150mm portrait lens. You never know when you will shoot a portrait of someone riddled with acne. Besides, a filter THAT red will render clear daylight skies on monochrome film practically black, which will bring out any cumulus clouds rather nicely. This filter also fits my Mamiya M645 55mm wide angle lens so I’ll have to experiment a bit, Puget Sound weather permitting.
As I was about to walk out the door, I found myself in front of a table full of Agfa Isolette viewfinder cameras. If you want the full specifications of this camera, complete with the universe of reviews written by rank amateurs, then I leave you to the Internet to continue your quest. All I can say is that the shutter appeared to open and close at 1/25, 1/50, and 1/200 second as best that my calibrated eyeballs could surmise, and the lens was still transparent. At $15, the worst that could happen was that I would have a non-functional conversation piece on my desk at my day job. This little relic of the ’50s also takes 120 format film, which saves me the step of re-rolling 120 film onto a 620 spool should I have purchased the Kodak Brownie sitting on the next table.
For less than $100, I walked out of the swap meet with a Mamiya twin lens reflex camera, a great lens, a 46mm orange filter, a 52mm R72 infrared filter for my Fuji S2 Pro digital camera, three rolls of practically worthless film, and a piece of German photographic history. I shot a roll of Ultrafine 100 Plus through my ‘new’ Mamiya C220f today and the negatives appear very printable. The film advance works as it should and the body is light-tight. I shot Fujicolor 160C film through the Agfa Isolette, so the results will be a few days forthcoming after I get it back from the processor.
All in all, a good day for someone who just can’t seem to make the great leap into the 21st century, photographically speaking. You just don’t get that kind of fun buying the latest digital gadget from a box store.
I wasn’t in the building five minutes when I came across a table sporting a pair of Mamiya twin lens reflex cameras. I asked how much the seller was asking for one of them, a well maintained C220f, like I was even interested. I already own a C330 and a model C330f. What on earth would I do with a third body? The camera included an 80mm f/2.8 blue dot lens and a strap. I would need to produce $90 cash to walk away with it.
Up to this point, I had never used either the C220f or the C330s. I performed the usual superficial inspection. Wind the film crank. Look in the viewfinder for cracks and the kind of gunk that can accumulate over a few decades. Cock and trip the shutter. Check out the shutter speeds, especially the slower ones. Open the camera back. Look for damage or corrosion. Check out the condition of the light seals.
But where was the door latch? The usual chrome button-shaped film door catch release wasn’t there! I pulled every knob and moved every slide and protrusion that I could find to release the film door but I just couldn’t open it. The seller was equally baffled. Most Mamiya C series TLRs have an obvious round silver catch on the top edge of the film door, which was conspicuously absent in these two models. Since the vendor was also selling a C330s with a similar film door design, I thought that I could find some leverage with technical information should I decide to take the camera home. With the seller’s permission, I took the camera from vendor to vendor looking for someone with expertise in the Mamiya C220f.
I asked four of them, including someone who looked like George Eastman himself if he were alive today, but no one could pull the sword from the stone. The fifth man was the one I was looking for. After a bit of fiddling, he discovered that by moving a spring loaded slider on the left side of the body next to the film door while depressing the film take-up spool axel knob, the film door would pop open with ease. (He later confessed that he was a camera repairman with over 20 years experience and couldn’t bear the humiliation if word got out that he couldn’t open the film door of a 35 year old camera!)
I approached the original vendor and, armed with confidence and my newfound knowledge of Mamiya TLR film doors, offered her $80 firm. Her best price was $90, but knowing that unless her next customer was profoundly familiar with Mamiya C series cameras, she would be stuck with two unsalable items. A deal was struck, and I am now the proud owner of a THIRD Mamiya TLR body and a second 80mm lens. The lens alone was worth the price!
Since my mission that day was to find 46 mm filters for my two other Mamiya TLRs, I bought a roll of Agfa Isopan ISS 200 black and white film that expired during the Johnson Administration and a roll of Kodacolor 120 film that I simply MUST expose and process. The color shift from film that is more than 30 years outdated will be a spectacle to behold, or an utter failure. I’ll have to shoot it and see for myself. While digging through bins of used filters of all colors and sizes, I bought a lens wrench, a couple of 620 film spools, and a 58mm #29 red filter for my Mamiya M645 150mm portrait lens. You never know when you will shoot a portrait of someone riddled with acne. Besides, a filter THAT red will render clear daylight skies on monochrome film practically black, which will bring out any cumulus clouds rather nicely. This filter also fits my Mamiya M645 55mm wide angle lens so I’ll have to experiment a bit, Puget Sound weather permitting.
As I was about to walk out the door, I found myself in front of a table full of Agfa Isolette viewfinder cameras. If you want the full specifications of this camera, complete with the universe of reviews written by rank amateurs, then I leave you to the Internet to continue your quest. All I can say is that the shutter appeared to open and close at 1/25, 1/50, and 1/200 second as best that my calibrated eyeballs could surmise, and the lens was still transparent. At $15, the worst that could happen was that I would have a non-functional conversation piece on my desk at my day job. This little relic of the ’50s also takes 120 format film, which saves me the step of re-rolling 120 film onto a 620 spool should I have purchased the Kodak Brownie sitting on the next table.
For less than $100, I walked out of the swap meet with a Mamiya twin lens reflex camera, a great lens, a 46mm orange filter, a 52mm R72 infrared filter for my Fuji S2 Pro digital camera, three rolls of practically worthless film, and a piece of German photographic history. I shot a roll of Ultrafine 100 Plus through my ‘new’ Mamiya C220f today and the negatives appear very printable. The film advance works as it should and the body is light-tight. I shot Fujicolor 160C film through the Agfa Isolette, so the results will be a few days forthcoming after I get it back from the processor.
All in all, a good day for someone who just can’t seem to make the great leap into the 21st century, photographically speaking. You just don’t get that kind of fun buying the latest digital gadget from a box store.